Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Antisocial networking

The backlash against social networking sites like Myspace and Friendster has begun. Welcome to the antisocial web.

A site called Snubster lets you create a list of people that you don't want to be friends with. Enter a person's email address and they'll get a message to says they are "dead to you", or "on notice" along with a reason, if you see fit to give them one. I've just snubbed one of my colleagues and put my boss on notice. They're being nicer to me already.

Other antisocial networking sites include isolatr and introvertster. Snubster's creator came up with the site because he was sick of getting emails inviting him to be online 'friends' with people. But the idea is already being turned inside out as some people are making social connections by browsing each other's hate lists.

"It has developed into a sort of community atmosphere," says the guy behind Snubster. "It seems as though people find entertainment and connections in finding other people that hate the same things as them."

Maybe online social networking can't be beaten, or maybe we're just not trying hard enough. Time to snub the rest of my colleagues. I'll blame my genes, or perhaps I should try and beat the urge by refining my social skills online.